We don’t have cable television which means we read a lot of books and have cabinets full of board/card/dice games. I’m slightly addicted to adding to our collection. Each December, games go on sale at multiple retailers. I try and stop myself from purchasing more games and stashing them away for the future. I fail every year. These are our top family games. Yes there are 11 not 10. I’m a rule-breaker like that.

Blokus — There are a few variations of this Mattel game, but we’ve only played the original. It’s a strategy game for up to four players. Each player has a specific color of plastic playing pieces. The goal is to connect the pieces by the corner-only with other same-colored pieces while blocking the other-colored pieces. The winner is the player who has used the most of their 21 pieces. This is the game I always suggest when we sit down to play.

Mr. Mouth — My boys adore this game. Four players take turns flicking plastic flies into the mouth of a motorized frog head that turns in the middle of the board. This game is all about hand-eye coordination and knowing how much pressure to apply when you catapult your frogs. Our 4-year-old daughter gets frustrated with this game. I’m not sure if it’s just our board, but the green catapult is notoriously more accurate than the other three colors. We have to take turns being green.

Nacho Loco — Hands down our favorite card game. It’s a strategy game with triangular-shaped cards. Players try to earn points while getting rid of their own cards and trying to block other players from doing the same. We play round after round after round until we force ourselves to do something else.

Pentago — This is another strategy game. Do you see a pattern forming? Two players attempt to place five marbles in a row on the board. The tricky part is the board moves and part of each player’s turn is to twist a segment of the board. My 11-year-old and I are the ones who enjoy this game. There’s a lot of forethought used in this game.

Cranium Triple Triumph — This is a 3-D strategy game using plastic pyramids with different colors on the sides and bottoms. Pieces must be placed touching colors that match. Points are awarded each move depending on the number of touching sides players matched. Triple Triumph is perfect for kiddos who enjoy putting puzzles together. The pieces are durable and a games don’t drag on for hours.

Battleship — We own the classic version of this game, not the electronic. We’re loud enough as it is. I don’t need the game talking back to us. Two players use logic to try and sink their opponents five ships. The first to get all five, wins.

SORRY! Sliders — This is a twisted version of the classic game. The game is setup like a shuffle board. Players attempt to slide their pawns to home. My boys like to try and knock other pawns off the board. There’s not a lot of strategy or skill involved to play this game which makes it perfect for kids to play without an adult needed to interpret rules. There are four different ways to play the game.

LCR – Left Center Right Dice Game — We use this game when all six of us want to play something together, and all of us can participate. Players roll three dice and follow the directions given. Just when you think someone is about to be out, everything changes. It’s addicting.

Trouble — A Pop-O-Matic rolls the die for players in this game. Players move pegs depending on the number on the die and can knock pegs back to start if they land on the same spot. This is a simple game and doesn’t require adults to watch every play. We have the classic version of this game, but I think we need the R2-D2 version of the game. My Star Wars quoting Jedis would appreciate it.

Monopoly — We own the Star Wars The Clone Wars version of this game which I think is more interesting than the original version. I’m not sure the boys would ever play the classic version but enjoy the Star Wars twist. There are loads of versions of Monopoly on the market. Monopoly is one of those games that every family should own in some form.

LEGO Hogwarts Game — Players build the game board out of provided LEGO pieces before even starting to play. The game board changes while you play with shifting staircases and hallways. We own several LEGO board games. This Harry Potter version is the favorite of my boys. Our daughter is too young to play. The Heroica games and Magikus are other LEGO board games that fans of LEGO bricks would enjoy playing.

So, what do you think?

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Once upon a time, I earned a journalism degree and had a short career working for a newspaper. Then I married and decided my career would be raising our children. That’s where the story about me really begins...